Portraying the Work of Instructional Designing: An Activity-Oriented Analysis.

Rathbun, Gail A.

This study tested the usefulness of an activity-oriented approach in describing and explaining the work of designing an international distance education course in business entrepreneurship at Indiana University. The course was team taught with an instructor at the City University of Hong Kong; video conferencing and Internet-based technologies were used to facilitate collaboration. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and document review. Multi-faceted views of the object/outcomes of work emerged, which led to both breakdowns in the processes of the work activity and to innovation and modification. The sets of assumptions embraced by the communities of practice to which participants belonged strongly influenced what each individual considered correct and appropriate behavior. Concrete, empathetic ways of doing, guided by an ethic of care, emerged as the more influential forces in gaining knowledge and guiding action in this case. The researcher suggests that accepting these forces as the set of assumptions underlying design practice creates new potential for re-shaping and renewing the practice of instructional design, its research agendas, and design education. Major topics covered include: four activity systems and their underlying contradictions; analysis from a historical perspective; and implications for practice, research, and design education. (Contains 34 references.) (MES)